Francois-Noel Babeuf

François-Noël Babeuf (23 November 1760 – 27 May 1797), also known as Gracchus Babeuf, was a political agitator within Revolutionary France and a key member of the Conspiracy of Equals. Babeuf is often considered to have been the first communist,[1][2][3] and is referenced by Karl Marx in Chapter III of The Communist Manifesto.

Gracchus Babeuf wrote the newsletter Le tribun du peuple ("the tribune of the people"), which advocated for the poor and called for a popular revolt. His views specifically were also later adopted by the communists and the anarchists, and was even considered to be the first communist, predating Karl Marx.[4][5][6] He ultimately was killed after trying to instigate a revolt against the French Directory, despite his fellow Jacobins trying to save him. Despite this, however, Marx referenced him in Chapter III of the Communist Manifesto.